Incognito
by Silent Memento
Summary: Spanish for hidden. The web of lies kept on growing and growing until he could barely keep it hidden inside of himself. When drops of doubt were added to the lies, they created a traitor. Oneshot.


The sun barely peeked from the cover of the clouds, and a slight breeze chilled the air, making it cold for a newleaf day. The bracken shifted unnaturally to reveal a golden-brown tom pushing his way through the undergrowth. A black tom with a brown underbelly trailed after him like a kit trailing after its mother, looking around for any signs of the cat he was looking for.

The scars from the previous battle ached, but he ignored them and the arthritic pain that they wrought upon his body. He had not lied to Leafpool about them so that he could go on the patrol and come back complaining about the pain. He could stay quiet about his wounds and thoughts, even with a nosy traitor such as the medicine cat poking around. He hated it when she had tried to access his thoughts. She had no idea of the pain he had gone through. His father and mother might have had a fair claim to be the most miserable cat around that time, but he had lost his little brother and sister, the former to starvation, and the latter to the cold. Then he had lost his only littermate to a monster. He hated how Leafpool had made the diagnosis.

"He broke his neck," she had meowed. "He felt no pain."

What a liar. He could see the agony that was trapped in Shrewpaw's lifeless amber eyes. The blood covering his fur, the broken bone that jutted out of his neck… How could there be no pain when he died like that? He had not gone to sit vigil for his brother. He had gone back to the ruined ThunderClan camp to wail like a small kit until he couldn't wail at all.

Why? Why was StarClan this cruel? Why did they have a kittypet become leader? Why did Firestar stay to save other cats when the cats in his own Clan were dying? Brambleclaw had wanted to leave immediately. Tigerstar would've probably wanted to leave immediately as well. Maybe Tigerstar would've been a better leader than Firestar. The only problem that he could see with Tigerstar was the ambition. Who didn't have ambition? Could any cat honestly say that they had no ambitions to become leader of their Clan? The only difference between Tigerstar and any other cat was that the former was willing to murder for his ambitions.

Spiderleg was the black-and-brown cat's name. He actually liked the prefix. It seemed to flow with his personality, with his very soul. However, when Firestar gave him his warrior name, the leader had ruined it. Spider_leg_? Why not Spiderfang? Why not Spiderpelt? Okay, maybe 'Spiderpelt' was a stretch, but it was still better than his current name.

He let out a deep sigh. The golden-brown tom, Thornclaw, looked back at Spiderleg. The younger warrior noticed that Thornclaw had cared about him a lot more since…since his apprentice, Shrewpaw, was killed. Maybe it was so that he could help. He was grateful for the concern, but he didn't _want_ Thornclaw's help. There was only one cat who could help him at this point, and it wasn't a ThunderClan cat.

"Is something wrong?" Thornclaw queried while tilting his head to one side.

"I-I just need to be alone," muttered Spiderleg. "Could you lead the patrol without me?"

"Sure," the golden-brown tom meowed while nodding. "Just…do whatever you want."

Spiderleg looked back at Thornclaw in sympathy. He had lost two former apprentices in the span of less than two seasons. Sootfur had been brutally killed by a badger in the previous attack, along with Cinderpelt. The death toll could have been a lot higher, but it was already bad enough as it was. The Clan had lost a valuable young warrior, and they had lost their experienced medicine cat. What concerned Spiderleg was that the medicine cat position was filled in by a treacherous kittypet. Leafpool had _deserted_ her Clan for a WindClan tom. The whole ordeal disgusted him.

_So Mudclaw gets killed by StarClan because of his dislike of Onestar, and yet StarClan doesn't kill this kittypet for deserting her Clan?_ Those thoughts crept into his mind all the time. He had supported Mudclaw over Onestar. Mudclaw had been the deputy of WindClan since before he was born. He rightfully deserved that leadership position.

He had helped Mudclaw before the attacks began. Convincing Cedarheart and Rowanclaw, among others, wasn't easy, but he managed to pull it off. Hawkfrost had convinced him to help out with the preparations. Hawkfrost was the cat he had to meet, the cat who could make a difference in the Clans, the cat who could do what Tigerstar should've done.

Hawkfrost didn't seem to be more than a normal, hard-working warrior to most, but he was charismatic, intelligent, and simply what every warrior should aspire to be. The thing that separated him from Tigerstar was that he wasn't as opposed to rogues. Hawkfrost happened to be half-rogue. He understood how harsh life could really be. He knew the value of pride in himself and his accomplishments.

He had boasted about driving away a badger by himself. Many would call him arrogant, but those same hypocritical warriors also bragged about their achievements over and over. Even cats such as Graystripe and Brambleclaw had bragged about what they had done. Hawkfrost didn't try to hide his opinions, and that was the reason why he was so charismatic.

Spiderleg felt drawn to the young warrior. Hawkfrost was sympathetic to him and what had happened to him all those moons ago. He gave the then-apprentice a shoulder to lean on. He listened to what the younger cat was angry about.

He then tried to take a devil's advocate approach to the whole ordeal, asking what Spiderleg would have done in Firestar's place. Spiderleg had answered that he would not have let innocent cats die. He would have listened to Brambleclaw; the other Clans wouldn't have mattered to him. Hawkfrost had readily agreed, and he said that the WindClan deputy thought the same way. Maybe Mudclaw would have made a good leader. However, nobody would find out now.

He let out a sigh of exasperation while waiting for Hawkfrost to show up. The sun was at its highest point, and he was almost tired of waiting until the huge dark-brown tom finally arrived. He looked almost exactly like Brambleclaw, except for the icy-blue eyes that gazed at Spiderleg with near exhaustion.

The younger warrior stared at the best warrior in RiverClan. His dark-brown fur was ragged, and he looked like he had not slept well in many moons. He also noticed blood in several different spots.

"What happened to you?" he asked in a voice that was sharper than intended.

"It's nothing," Hawkfrost growled angrily, before looking at the younger warrior in concern. "What's the status in ThunderClan?"

Spiderleg paused for just a moment. Hawkfrost may have helped him on the journey, but he was still an enemy warrior from another Clan. He decided to give Hawkfrost a generic answer that was tried and tested in many cases before his own. "We're doing quite well, actually," he replied coolly. "We are still more than capable of defending our borders."

Hawkfrost looked at him before letting out a purr of amusement. "A good answer, but it's not the right one," he meowed, while flicking his tail to cut off Spiderleg from speaking. "I know that you lost your medicine cat. That's a huge blow to a Clan. Judging by your scars, many good warriors are badly hurt, and one of them, Sootfur, is dead. It was Sootfur, right?"

Spiderleg stared at Hawkfrost. How did he know? How did he know exactly what went on in the ThunderClan camp? Was it Brambleclaw? No, it couldn't be…Brambleclaw was asleep late at night, and he was busy during the day. He couldn't have time to talk to his half-brother, right?

"H-How did you know about…?" Spiderleg started to say before he trailed off.

"Brambleclaw, of course," Hawkfrost replied.

"But…but how did he get out of camp?" the young ThunderClan warrior asked, feeling like a foolish kit again.

"It was rather simple," replied the once-deputy of RiverClan. "He snuck out of camp."

Spiderleg decided not to ask any other questions about Brambleclaw. It would ruin the purpose of this meeting.

"What are we going to do about Firestar?" he asked skeptically. "He isn't going to name a deputy. He still thinks that Graystripe is alive. If we kill him, ThunderClan will dissolve from within."

To Spiderleg's disappointment, Hawkfrost didn't answer that question. In fact, he began to walk away, clearly thinking about the next plan. That concluded the conversation.

A few moons later, on an equally cold newleaf day, Spiderleg was caught up in a moment that changed his life forever. He had just finished another boring patrol on the WindClan border. He was furious that the mousebrained idiot that somehow became ThunderClan's leader was so concerned over WindClan. For StarClan's sake, WindClan wasn't the problem! ShadowClan were the antagonists. They were asking for territory and trying to take it by force at the same time. So, why was Firestar so concerned over WindClan? If anything, he should have been concerned over ShadowClan!

He stalked over to his nest near the coldest part of the warriors den while glaring at a nest near the center of the den. He hated the fact that Squirrelflight had dared to make her nest near the center. That place was for the senior warriors, not the other brat of the leader. Rage began to course through every muscle, every sinew, and every bone in his body until he wanted to yowl to show how he really felt. He _hated_ Firestar for doing everything wrong. He _hated_ Firestar's daughters for acting like they owned the whole Clan, just because they were the leader's daughters. He _hated_ the whole Clan for listening to a _kittypet_ of all things. He _hated_ Bluestar for taking Firestar in. He _hated_ StarClan for making a prophecy about the kittypet.

Spiderleg then curled up in his nest, trying to make himself as comfortable as possible. He felt utterly miserable, and he didn't feel like sharing tongues with anyone else. Aside from his littermate, there was nobody who could really understand. He began to paw at the dusty ground in a lazy manner until the dust clouds drew a sneeze from him. He had never felt so tired in his life. Eventually, he let sleep take over.

He awoke in a young forest that seemed to be filled with energy and life. He wandered over to a small pond. When he looked at his reflection, he let out a startled yowl. He looked…younger. He looked like he was an apprentice… He then realized that he _was_ an apprentice. His legs weren't so long, and branches that he could have easily stepped over as a warrior looked bigger and harder to jump over.

He then decided to take a closer look at where he was. The forest looked…it looked like the old forest where the Clans used to live. He looked around and let out a mew that was filled with shock and delight. It _was_ the old forest! Even the sandy pit that functioned as a training spot for apprentices was there. He saw the gorse barrier that protected the camp. His heart began to beat faster as he heard a familiar meow calling his name.

"Spiderpaw?" the voice called in shock. "Is that you?"

"Shrewpaw!" Spiderleg squealed as if he was a kit again, not even caring about having his apprentice name used.

He raced through the gorse to see his sibling outside of the apprentice den. Shrewpaw looked like he did before he died. He was a small dark-brown tom with a narrow muzzle and a thin figure. Amber looked at amber as the two littermates stared at each other. They then exclaimed the other's name simultaneously and began to engage in a playfight.

After a small tussle that barely lasted, they began to talk for the first time in seasons.

"Spiderleg is your name now?" Shrewpaw mewed in shock. "That's…"

"I know," meowed Spiderleg, shaking his head in disbelief at both his name and at how high-pitched his voice was. "So, is there anything you've been doing recently?"

Shrewpaw cocked his head to one side, looking at his sibling as if he had said that his mother was a fox. "Do I do anything in StarClan? No." He sighed before continuing his sentence. "I didn't even know that you got a warrior name… They, StarClan, I mean, don't really tell you much. It's frustrating. I just lie down on the clouds all day long, watching over Larchkit and Hollykit. I mean, it's not necessarily a bad thing to watch over your siblings, especially if they're kits forever, but you never get to hear anything about anyone.

"I can't recall how many times I've asked them to tell me about what's happening with you and Birchkit. They always tell me to 'be patient, and we'll tell you.' They never tell me anything. They're known for mincing words, Spiderleg. They tell me some things, like what's happening with the Clans, but they don't tell me what's happening with certain cats. I don't like it at all."

Spiderleg nodded before remembering something. "Birchpaw is an apprentice now," he blurted out.

Shrewpaw nodded slowly. "See what I mean about them not telling me anything?"

"Yeah…"

"So, what have you been doing?" asked Shrewpaw curiously.

Spiderleg felt his blood begin to freeze. He couldn't tell his littermate _exactly_ what he was doing. He then decided to lie yet again.

"Not much," he muttered nonchalantly. "Just a few patrols over by the WindClan border and hunting a bit of prey."

"Is the prey running well?"

"It's running fairly well, but then again, it is newleaf," Spiderleg replied quietly.

"Is something wrong, Spiderleg?" Shrewpaw asked with concern.

The young warrior wanted to answer his sibling truthfully, but he found that he couldn't. He truly was alone.

"No," he replied in as calm of a voice as he could manage.

Shrewpaw looked at his brother skeptically, but to Spiderleg's relief, the dead apprentice didn't press the matter further. Instead, he looked up at the now-starry sky.

"I have to go, Spiderleg," Shrewpaw meowed sadly. "I've spent too much time here. I'll leave you to your dreams." His eyes began to shine with happiness as he continued his sentence. "I love you, dearest brother. It was a pleasure to talk to you again."

"I…I love you too, Shrewpaw," Spiderleg mewed.

Spiderleg then woke up to darkness. He stared at the trees. He didn't recognize this forest. It was dark, dead, and there wasn't a cat in sight. Fear began to overwhelm him as he looked at the small shadows scurrying around his paws and near the pale, glowing fungus that served as the only light. When he batted a paw at them, they turned to smoke that floated around him.

He choked on a bit of the smoke, feeling it rush down his throat, tearing at his larynx. He fell to the ground, wheezing pathetically. He didn't know if he was dreaming or not, but this felt so real…

Spiderleg then stared at a glowing pair of amber eyes that he could see through the undergrowth. A huge cat stared back at him, almost in amusement. It looked like Brambleclaw, but this cat was a little bigger with broader shoulders, a V-shaped nick in its ear, and a scarred nose. Spiderleg scrambled to his feet, ready to fight, but he immediately knew it was useless. He was still apprentice-sized; he couldn't even reach the other cat's shoulder.

The big cat let out a deep purr, and Spiderleg realized that it was laughing.

"This is the cat that's helping my son with his preparations?" it meowed in an almost taunting voice. "This is the traitor of ThunderClan?"

Spiderleg let out a small squeak, and his thoughts began to race as fast as his heart. _No. It can't be. It can't be you. You're long dead and gone. You're just…just a name used to frighten little kits._

However, he could only muster one word. "Tigerstar?" he mewed in utter disbelief.

The bloodthirsty former leader didn't even give the younger warrior the satisfaction of a nod. Instead, he looked at Spiderleg and spoke just a single sentence.

"My son will see you soon to discuss what needs to be done."

"Spiderleg?" a voice called. "Spiderleg, wake up, you lazy furball!"

The young tom was immediately pulled back to wakefulness. To his fury, he noticed Squirrelflight prodding at him with a claw. He leapt to his paws, noting that he wasn't apprentice-sized anymore.

"You've been asleep for the whole day," she meowed with a touch of annoyance in her tone. "Other cats thought that you might be sick."

"I'm _fine_, Squirrelflight," Spiderleg growled, feeling a bit of satisfaction that he was looking down at her.

"No, you're not," she retorted. "You've been sleeping for the entire day like a hedgehog in leaf-bare. That's just laziness."

"And you have no right to say anything about me!" he yowled. "You're the one who tried to go with both Ashfur _and_ Brambleclaw! You have no right to say _anything_ about _any_ cat, and your treacherous sister has no rights either!"

Squirrelflight began to snarl at him, her hackles rising. Spiderleg simply sneered back, knowing that she had nothing to say to him that could be used. However, another cat interrupted them.

"Enough," growled Ashfur. "Quit wasting your time fighting each other. It's not going to catch prey or guard our borders."

Squirrelflight shot a glare at Spiderleg before stalking out of the den. Ashfur let out a sigh as she walked out, the love in his eyes never more apparent. Spiderleg felt a bit of annoyance. Why did he love her? All she ever did was hurt him, and yet he still loved her? Spiderleg doubted that he'd ever understand the powerful and mysterious emotion that was love for the opposite gender.

"Are you okay, Ashfur?" he asked calmly, not really caring if he got an answer or not.

The older warrior decided to shoot his own glare at Spiderleg and stalked out of the den. Spiderleg began to nod, the seeds of an idea planted in his head. Ashfur was loud and obnoxious. He let the whole world know what he thought, and that worked perfectly with what Spiderleg was trying to do. He liked and respected Ashfur, but if it came to preserving his cover, he wouldn't hesitate to set him up for the fall. Jealousy and hatred would make perfect motives. Nobody would care that Hawkfrost was the son of the cat that viciously murdered Ashfur's mother. Spiderleg allowed himself a small purr. This was almost too easy.

He then heard Firestar call for a Clan meeting. He didn't walk out immediately, but when he did, he noticed Leafpool out on the Highledge by her father's side. He managed to suppress the yowl of rage that was building in his throat when Firestar announced the news that Graystripe was dead. He then held his head in grief, much like the rest of the Clan. This announcement had been long overdue. Now a cat like his father, Dustpelt, or Brackenfur could become the deputy.

"I say these words so that the spirit of Graystripe can hear and approve my choice," Firestar meowed, bowing his head for a moment. A short silence followed before Firestar said the words that would shake the Clan to the core. "Brambleclaw will be the deputy of ThunderClan."

"What?" Spiderleg meowed in shock. "That bossy furball is the deputy of ThunderClan?" He then remembered that he was not supposed to say anything and instantly bowed his head, embarrassment flooding through him.

"But I've never had an apprentice!" Brambleclaw blurted out. Spiderleg shook his head at the obvious stupidity of the cat. If he had an opportunity to become the deputy, he wouldn't point out something like that. It would be like saying you had murdered the former deputy.

Spiderleg hardly listened to what the others were saying, until he heard Leafpool talking about her dream. He then sat up abruptly and stared at her in fury. _You liar! You never had that dream. You're a liar, you've always been a liar, and you always will be a liar! You're nothing but a spoiled brat of a kittypet who happens to be the leader of ThunderClan. I hate you! I hate you!_

He knew that if he had said those words out loud, his entrails would be scattered from the camp to the sundrown place. He could not care less.

"I can't quarrel with StarClan," Dustpelt mewed, looking down at his paws.

"Well, I can!" yowled Ashfur. Spiderleg would have agreed with him, but he knew that he had to let Ashfur fall. He wouldn't be the one that would hit the ground as hard as Ashfur would.

"Don't you think it's odd that Squirrelflight is Brambleclaw's mate _and_ Leafpool's sister? I think it's very convenient that Leafpool had a sign about Brambleclaw just now, isn't it?"

Spiderleg nodded his head furiously, not even caring about his cover. Ashfur was saying everything that Spiderleg had ever wanted to say. He practically worshipped this cat now.

"Say that to my face, foxdung!" screeched Squirrelflight, lunging at Ashfur before being intercepted by Brambleclaw, who was whispering frantically in her ears.

"Are there any other cats who agree with Ashfur?" Firestar asked coldly.

Spiderleg glanced at the cats at his sides. He opened his mouth to say 'Yes,' but he realized that that would be horrendously stupid on his part. He quickly closed it, feeling a bit of agony from the words he so desperately wanted to say.

"None agree," meowed Brackenfur. "Leafpool is an honest cat…"

_And you're a fool for believing that lying heap of foxdung._

Spiderleg tried to contain his inner feelings of rage. He quickly congratulated Brambleclaw, although it was one of the last things he wanted to do, and stalked out of camp, looking for the RiverClan border. He waited at the lake border for Hawkfrost to show up. He waited all night, but no one ever came. He finally let sleep take over him, much against his will.

He woke up to three RiverClan cats staring at him. "What do you want?" growled one of them, a light gray tom. A golden-brown tom and a dark-gray she-cat, both apprentices, had their hackles raised and were hissing at Spiderleg.

"I-I wanted to speak with Hawkfrost," the young ThunderClan warrior meowed quietly.

The gray tom's ear perked up in surprise. "Why do you want to speak with him?" he asked calmly.

"I can't tell you, but it's urgent and necessary that I speak with him," Spiderleg meowed quickly. He stared at the gray tom with a pleading look.

"He's lying," growled the dark-gray she-cat, glaring at Spiderleg. "Let's chase him out!"

"Enough, Ripplepaw," growled the tom. He then looked at the golden-brown tom and growled, "Don't you dare say anything, Beechpaw."

Spiderleg looked hopefully at the gray tom, but the hope was quickly shot down as the tom snarled, "Get off. Go!"

"Wait, what's going on here?" yowled a voice. Spiderleg sighed in relief when he saw Hawkfrost bounding towards them. The tabby's icy-blue eyes widened in recognition as he saw Spiderleg, and he quickly meowed, "Stonestream, could I discuss some things with this ThunderClan cat?"

Stonestream nodded quickly. "Of course, Hawkfrost," he mumbled, his amber eyes shining with respect. He then shepherded the apprentices away from the two cats. Hawkfrost waited until all of them were gone before speaking.

"It's about time," growled Hawkfrost. "You're lucky that it wasn't Mistyfoot that caught you here. Now what do you want?"

"Now Brambleclaw is the deputy," snarled the black-and-brown tom. "That no-good furball is just another Firestar, and he's going to be nothing but trouble if we do kill that kittypet."

"Spiderleg, I do recall that you said that Brambleclaw had wanted to leave the forest," Hawkfrost meowed calmly. "Firestar did not want to leave, but Brambleclaw wanted to. Does he sound like another Firestar to you?"

Spiderleg then realized how foolish he was sounding. "So, you want to kill Firestar to make Brambleclaw the leader?" he asked, knowing what the answer was.

Hawkfrost nodded. "I also have a plan," he meowed. "You do know that there's an abundance of fox traps on your territory, right?"

Spiderleg nodded, recognition dawning on him. "But how are we going to get Firestar stuck in one?" he meowed skeptically.

"Is there anyone that would listen to you and do whatever you told them to do?" Hawkfrost asked.

"Birchpaw!" gasped Spiderleg, before quickly adding, "He's my brother from another litter. He'll listen to me; I'm the only sibling he has left."

"Good. Then tell him that Blackstar wants to meet Firestar alone on the border one day from now. Make sure that you're leading a patrol. Lead them away from the ShadowClan border. When they come back, Firestar will be dead, and Brambleclaw will be the leader.

"If someone sees Brambleclaw and me, then it's no loss. Brambleclaw would be a traitor, and I'd have the protection of RiverClan. No sane RiverClan cat would believe ThunderClan over me, and no one would suspect you. You do have a cat who will take the fall, right?"

"That would be Ashfur," growled Spiderleg, hating himself for doing this. "He used to love Squirrelflight, but then Brambleclaw stole her from him. Jealousy would be a perfect motive."

"Excellent," meowed Hawkfrost. "The plan starts a day from now; I told Brambleclaw that I'd meet with him. I'll get Firestar into the fox trap before I meet with him. You just have to make sure that no patrols come near the ShadowClan border."

Spiderleg nodded. "I'll see you in a day then."

He then walked away. This would be where he could finally get his revenge. Firestar would finally pay for Shrewpaw, Larchkit, and Hollykit. He would suffer for making his life miserable. Spiderleg felt a lot more cheerful than he had ever felt in his life.

When he finally got to the camp, he noticed his last surviving sibling eating a sparrow. Spiderleg waited until Birchpaw was done before calling him over. The young cat bounded over to his brother's side.

"Hi, Spiderleg!" he squeaked with excitement. "I haven't spoken to you in a while…"

"Yeah, I've been busy," Spiderleg meowed quietly. "I went over to the ShadowClan border today. You see, Blackstar, he…he wants to meet Firestar to discuss the borders tomorrow. Could you let Firestar know that Blackstar promised to be alone?"

"Okay!" Birchpaw mewed before rushing off to tell Firestar. Spiderleg felt a twinge of guilt for using the young apprentice, and his brother at that, for this kind of thing. He knew that Birchpaw could easily be killed as a traitor.

_I had to do it. There wasn't another option, and it would be like we're both getting the revenge we deserve, right? Right?_

Spiderleg found that he couldn't sleep that night. Everything was too overwhelming, and he didn't feel tired at all. When morning finally passed, he remembered to take the patrol that Brambleclaw had granted him towards the WindClan border. He called Ashfur, Thornclaw, and Birchpaw to his side. He felt more than just a mere twinge of guilt. He was duping every one of these cats, the cats that had shown that they cared about him. Guilt began to eat at his heart until nothing remained except a black void, twisted and perverted until nothing that was remotely recognizable could be seen.

"Spiderleg?" Thornclaw asked. "Are you nervous? You know, this is the first patrol you've led. I was nervous too. You, uh, want me to help out?"

Spiderleg felt his paws take root as if they were a tree. "Um, you can lead the patrol, Thornclaw," he muttered. "I'm going to go and think about some things."

Thornclaw nodded. "Sure," he replied. He then called Brightheart to him and walked away with the other three cats.

Spiderleg let out a sigh, feeling his paws carry him towards the ShadowClan border unwillingly. He looked at Hawkfrost and Brambleclaw in the distance, noting that Firestar was already caught.

"What are you doing?" a voice asked quietly, yet angrily. Spiderleg whirled around to see Ashfur staring at him. "Why aren't you going to hel-" he began to say before he stopped in mid-sentence. "Y-Y-You! You helped with this, didn't you, you trai-"

Ashfur didn't get further into that sentence before Spiderleg hit him as hard as he could with a sheathed paw. Ashfur stumbled backwards in shock, hitting the rough ground hard.

"You can go tell whomever you like and try to stop Hawkfrost and Brambleclaw," Spiderleg snarled. "But if you _ever_ tell anyone what I've done, I will kill you, Squirrelflight, and whomever else you care about. Am I understood?"

Ashfur nodded dumbly and ran off, a rancid fear scent trailing from his direction. Spiderleg continued to watch the scene that was unfolding. He then noticed Brambleclaw and Hawkfrost fighting. He noted that he was right about Brambleclaw's loyalties with a sneer of satisfaction.

He then noticed Brambleclaw do something to Hawkfrost that he couldn't see from the distance. A jet of crimson squirted out of Hawkfrost's throat and he backed away, before looking at Spiderleg with a knowing glance. He then heard one of the worst possible things that he could have heard.

"You think that I was alone?" Hawkfrost sneered, arrogant to his bitter end. "You think that you're safe within your own Clan?" He then coughed up more blood and muttered something inaudible.

Spiderleg stood rooted to the ground with shock. His cover was blown. Brambleclaw knew that there was a traitor. He realized that he had lost this fight. Hawkfrost was mortally wounded, and Ashfur knew what he had done. He had to kill the latter soon, but that would just bring more suspicion upon him.

As he watched Squirrelflight, Leafpool, and Ashfur race over to Firestar's side, he realized that there was a bit of hope. There would always be a cat like Hawkfrost or Tigerstar. It was just natural. All he had to do was hide and wait until that cat came along. He had to stay hidden, or all would be lost. If he did that, then he could still have his revenge without having Birchpaw in the line of fire. Maybe his father could become the leader. Maybe…

He then heard a noise behind him. He whirled around and saw a vision of Shrewpaw looking away from him. He noticed his littermate turn towards him with a hurt look in his eyes.

"How could you?" he mewled. "How could you? I thought that you were loyal to ThunderClan…"

With those words, Shrewpaw turned away, leaving Spiderleg with more doubts to add to his ever-growing web of lies.


End file.
